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Asteroid

Pandora

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55 Pandora (A858 RB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.047 AU
True anomaly
218.24°
Distance from Earth
3.97 AU
As of
21 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth Pandora — 3.047 AU from the Sun Pandora
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Pandora is 3.97 AU from Earth today (33.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 55m 04s
Declination
-20° 37′ 23″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
3.97 AU
Elongation from the Sun
18.76° — too close to the Sun to observe

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.758 AU
Eccentricity
0.145
Inclination
7.18°
Orbital period
4.58 years
Perihelion
2.358 AU
Aphelion
3.158 AU
Longitude of ascending node
10.28°
Argument of periapsis
4.89°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · MBA
Main-belt asteroid
Earth MOID · 528.5 LD
1.358 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.316

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
6,239
Data arc
149.7 years
First observed
7 August 1876
Last observed
14 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.28 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
42 km
Rotation period
4.8 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.204
Absolute magnitude (H)
7.82
Colour index (B–V)
0.7
Spectral type (SMASS)
X
Spectral type (Tholen)
M
Colour index (U–B)
0.24

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Searle, G.
Discovery date
10 September 1858
Discovery site
Albany

Also known as 55 · A858 RB

Main-Belt Asteroid Named

Sources